Palak Kofta – Vegetable Balls Served In Creamy Spinach Sauce

A major influence on Indian cuisine is the Muslim method of cooking, the Mughlai style, which is distinct in the fact that a lot of stress is laid on cooking the food over slow fire and the use of rich spices and nuts like saffron, almonds, cashewnuts, poppy seeds,e lachi, dalchini and jaiphal to name a few, liberal use of desi ghee and tandoor. Most traditional Mughlai food preparations include the use of curds and cream to produce a rich creamy gravy and the most important part of Mughlai cuisine is the perfect blending of the spices using the right proportions bringing a distinct aroma and flavor to the dish, be it the paneer kebab or meat kebabs.

Palak Kofta is one such rich Mughalai dish where koftas which are balls made with spinach, potatoes and paneer are deep-fried and cooked and served in a rich creamy sauce prepared with spinach, onions, tomatoes and cashewnut paste. Its a labor intensive dish but its worth the effort and makes a great main course party dish and goes well with butter naan and rotis.

Heat ghee in a cooking vessel and add the shah jeera and let them pop. Add the onion paste and fry for 4-5 minutes on medium heat ensuring that it doesnt burn. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for another 2-3 mts. Add red chilli pwd and combine. Add the tomato puree and let it cook over slow fire till the ghee separates. Add the palak paste and the cashewnut paste and combine. Add a cup of water and salt. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes on low heat. Stir once in a while. Lastly add the garam masala and mix well. Turn off heat.

Just before serving, spread the koftas on a serving plate and pour the creamy gravy over the koftas and garnish with cream (optional). Serve with hot rotis or naan. If you are serving the dish immediately on cooking, then you can add the koftas to the gravy and simmer over heat for a minute before serving.

This recipe with soft melt-in-the-mouth koftas served in an aromatic and rich gravy is an absolutely tantilising, irresistable dish that will have your family or guests licking their fingers..:)
Recipe Source:Adapted from an Indian cooking magazine

i love kofta but never made it at home. i thought it was too difficult. i can see i was right but at least i have your recipe to follow 🙂

http://www.blogger.com/profile/8679416 Puspha

Simply divine!!!!!

Anonymous

Sailu garu,

I tried this last palak kofta reciepe last weekend.Its really good. Thanks for providing such a wonderful main course.

JK

Prathibha

Hi Sailu,

I have tried ur Palak kofta yesterday night, it came out very good, rich in gravy and soft koftas, in the beginning I had tough time to fry the koftas after that I managed it.

Thank you for the recipe.

Your most welcome, Prathibha. Am glad you liked the recipe..:)

SWARNA

HI,
IM SWARNA.I LOVE ALL THE RECIPES IN THIS WEBSITE!!!!!!!!!!

kavitha

Sailu,
This recipe looks very delicious. We are always told not to cook Palak and tomato together and it could be toxic. Is it true?

http://www.sadhanablog.blogspot.com Sadhana

Dear Sailu,

I have been reading your blog and cooking your recipes for quite some time now, but have never left a comment.

Your recipes are easy to make and very very tasty. Its like magic…you are absolutely fantastic! Thank you, a thousand times over. You have made cooking a pleasure for me, and my family loves you!

Gratefully…Sadhana

Rajitha

Dish looks absolutely divine, must give it a try…how do I add the bread for making the koftas, do we need to remove the crust and what option is preferred rolling the koftas in, corn flour or bread crumbs?? Please let me know..

Yes, remove crust of bread. You can use either corn flour or bread crumbs. Try corn flour.

mb

I am a newbie, how do I blanch onions? do they have to have the skin on ?

A.K

I tried this dish and it tasted so delicious. The only variation that I made was that, I added a few cubes of cottage cheese along with the koftas. We ate it with naan bread. Awesome..!

as

Sailu:

I finally made this dish that I had book marked a loong time ago.
Verdict : DELICIOUS!!! I made this over the weekend when we had guests for diner and as you mention it was “finger-licking” good. Got a ton of compliments! Thanks for sharing another treasure!

Srija

Hi Sailu,
I have started to cook recently, and I visit ur website almost everyday and try one or the other recipe posted by you..
Today I tried Palak kofta, this is the first time I have prepared any kind of kofta and thanks to you, it has come out very very good, I love all your posts, thanks a lot for posting all these lovely recipes..

Srija

Hi Sailu,
I have started to cook recently, and I visit ur website almost everyday and try one or the other recipe posted by you..
Today I tried Palak kofta, this is the first time I have prepared any kind of kofta and thanks to you, it has come out very very good, I love all your posts, thanks a lot for posting all these lovely recipes..

Jpk_scorpio

hi
I am planning to make this for my kids birthday. Can i make the kofta, palak, onion and tomato paste the day before and keep them in fridge or freezer so that the next day it would be easy for me to just make the gravy. could u please suggest me on this. Eagerly waiting for reply.
Thanks in advance.
Bye Mini

anjali

i tried this recipe today and it was total failure… i dont know what wrong i have done… all the kofta balls broke when i am deep frying… any guess what was the mistake 🙁